Canisters for housing toilet brushes or toilet plungers are known which have a clamshell construction, including a pair of walls which move between an open and a closed position. The canister is generally composed of three parts: a base and a pair of walls mounted on the base. Each wall is pivotally mounted on the base. Each wall has a bottom member that extends perpendicular to the wall and each bottom member overlaps one another. When a tool, such as a toilet plunger or toilet brush, is placed between the walls and is placed onto the bottom members, the weight of the tool on the bottom members causes them to be depressed downward, which in turn causes the walls to move from the open to the closed position. The tool is then enclosed within the canister and the walls surround the base of the tool, such as the brush portion or plunger portion of the tool, and the handle protrudes up through an opening formed in the top of the walls.
The use of overlapping base members, operates effectively in order to move the walls to the closed position. However, such canisters sometimes do not close completely or the walls do not line up with each other and gaps may appear between the edges of the walls. As well, such canisters can not be locked or maintained in the open position and extra effort may be required in order to insert the tool within the canister because it has closed. For example, removal of the tool from the canister by pulling up on the handle of the tool causes the brush portion or plunger end to abut against the interior of the walls and causes the walls to move to the open position. However, while the tool is separated from the canister to clean or unclog a toilet, it is possible for the walls of the canister to close. Because the canister does not have a mechanism to retain the walls in the open position, an inadvertent bump against one of the walls can cause the walls to close. Therefore, when returning to the canister with the tool, it cannot be placed quickly and easily inside the open canister. It is necessary for the user to bend down, grab the walls with his or her hands and spread them apart manually to the open position prior to inserting the tool therein. As the canister may be dirty or covered with germs or other matter, it may be undesirable for the canister walls to be touched by a user's hand. Therefore, the inadvertent closing of the walls of the canister while the tool is removed is very undesirable. A canister that overcomes these disadvantages and that can be quickly and inexpensively manufactured is desirable.